


Trying To Leave The Past Behind

by afteriwake



Series: I'd Like It If You Stay [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Caring Lestrade, Established Sally Donovan/Greg Lestrade, F/M, Fluff, Lestrade Is A Good Boyfriend, POV Sally, POV Sally Donovan, Past Anderson/Sally Donovan, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 11:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5826958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sally knew there might be complications having ended her relationship with Anderson and begun dating Greg while they were all still working together, but after a day of having to deal with Anderson she didn't realize how <i>stressful</i> it would be. But at least Greg is there to make the evening better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trying To Leave The Past Behind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IdrisSmith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdrisSmith/gifts).



> So I'm almost at 900 fics here (yay!) and I was totally stuck on what to write, and I got into a wonderful conversation with my friend **IdrisSmith** about why we both love the Lestrade/Sally pairing, and she ended up asking for a fic by saying she had a headcanon that they worked late nights and he'd start taking her out to nice dinners as not-date dates (" _He obviously did and I can see how those late nights turned into a bunch of not-dates where Lestrade take Sally to nice restaurants. Imagine Lestrade Googling places to eat and reading reviews, and cashing on favours. And Sally let him do this for quite a bit before going; dammit Greg, just kiss me already!_ " are her exact words) and I found a way of working it into this series. Hope you enjoy it, dear!

She’d heard a few people talking about their relationship, and most of the time it didn’t aggravate her. Yes, they may have _technically_ had their first few dates before the promotion was official and she was DI Donovan, but not long before, and nothing more than a couple evenings of takeaway and films. For fuck’s sake, they hadn’t even had their first kiss until the day of the promotion! She knew their superiors were fine with them being in a relationship, so long as it didn’t interfere with their duties; it was preferable to what she and Philip had had, obviously.

But then, damn him, Philip had to be at a crime scene with her because there was no one else and of _course_ he had to make a fuss, make a scene, and oh, she just wanted to go home and curl up with a pint of ice cream and takeaway and some very violent movie and just ignore the world. He chose his wife over her; he had no right to try and ruin what was honestly the first real relationship she’d ever had. Because the more she thought about it, really, the other men she’d been with had never seen her as a partner. She’d been a plaything, a tart on the side or a bit of fluff and fun. Greg saw her as a partner and treated her as such.

And if Philip thought he could ruin that he was _sorely_ mistaken.

She made her way up the stairs to her flat, purchases from Tesco balanced on her hip and sack of takeaway balanced as best she could with her handbag, when she saw Greg sitting out in front of her apartment. She stopped as he looked up. “You think if I hauled off and punched him I’d get sacked?” he asked.

Despite her sour mood the question brought a smile to her face as he got up and she moved closer. “Maybe not sacked, unless he was being a real arse,” she said. He held out his arms for the groceries and she handed them to him before digging her keys out. “But I could see an official reprimand in your file. That wouldn’t look good when you go up for retirement.”

He shrugged slightly. “It’d be worth it, though.”

“Yeah, but it’d only be a momentary pleasure, and I can guarantee you’d be bored if you had to stay at home and watch the telly all day,” she said, getting her keys out and starting to unlock the door. 

“What did you see in him?” he asked, more seriously than before. “I mean, he’s…Anderson.”

She paused a moment, and then finished unlocking the door and let them inside. She turned on lights as Lestrade headed to the kitchen. Long before they began dating, she knew he knew every inch of her apartment. When he’d been having problems with his wife and the Yard was more frustrating to be at, they’d move to her home with their files to go over cases. He knew her apartment just as well as she did. Hell, she was sure he could probably navigate his way around with his eyes closed. After a moment she joined him, setting the takeaway down. “He could be charming, and funny, and kind,” she said finally. “And he understood the life.”

He nodded. “I get that last bit. It helps having someone who understands.”

“Oh yes. I’ve been with too many men who don’t and then simply find it too hard to try, or who want to see me in the copper uniform with the heels and act out all their kinky fantasies and don’t realize there’s more to me than that, more to the job than that.” She finished taking her food out of the bag and then turned and leaned against the worktop. “I thought if I dated someone who was in the job it would be easier, but dating someone else like that was harder to do than I thought. And then the Cooperman case happened.”

Greg nodded slowly. “Yeah, that was a tough one. I remember I drank myself into a stupor.”

“So did Phillip and I. And instead of him going home to his wife, he went home with me, and…that was the start of it.” She tilted her head. “Towards the end, though, I knew it was over. Before he ever told me he was going back to his wife. After everything with Sherlock, it all…changed.”

“A lot of things changed that day,” Greg said.

She nodded. “Yeah.” She was quiet for a moment, wanting to lighten the mood slightly. “I was wondering something,” she said.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“The last few months...were you trying to get me to think of you in a more romantic light?” she asked, tilting her head as she pulled down plates. She’d planned on overindulging in takeaway so she could share with him and still have a good meal.

He gave her a slightly sheepish grin. “Was I too obvious?” he asked.

“A bit, yeah,” she said with a smile. “Though I was all hung up on things with Phillip to notice it until after. But…we’d work all these cases and put in all these late nights and instead of takeaway at the desk every night you’d take me to Hakkasan Mayfair if I suggested Chinese, or haz St Paul if I was in the mood for Mediterranean. And I know some of the places must have cost an arm and a leg, and you _had_ to be calling in favours to get us there.”

“I knew the chances were rather high you’d get the promotion,” he said. “Our closing rate, even without Sherlock’s help, has always been high, and a lot of that had to do with you. You’re quite brilliant, and when I was asked if I’d recommend you for the open Inspector position I sang your praises. I mean, as much as I would have liked to keep you by my side, you deserved the promotion. You probably should have had it ages ago, to be honest. You should have gotten it over Dimmock.”

“Office politics,” she said with a shrug.

“Well, I wasn’t about to let a slight like that happen again. And when I found out you were being strongly considered, that it was almost yours, I figured…couldn’t hurt if I showed you I was interested. I mean, that if you ever realized Anderson wasn’t going to be a permanent thing that I was there.”

She found her smile growing warmer, and she moved away from her spot to move closer to him, framing his face with her hands. “Well, I’ll let you in on something. Even before you showed up at the bar, I’d already been wondering when you were just going to kiss me already,” she said.

“Pity I had to wait another week after that,” he said with a grin, moving his hands to her waist to pull her closer.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure you can make up for it now,” she replied.

“I definitely think I can,” he said before pulling her in for a kiss. She kissed him back, melting against him, glad that she had wised up and taken a chance on Greg


End file.
